“Sheesh, what a day!” exclaimed Touma as he and his mother entered the temporary quarters that were assigned to them at the Church, an hour after they finished their supper and parted ways at the Bureau office.
She set down the bags that she had been carrying near the couch. “And it’s only going to get busier from here. You need to get prepared to start a new student life at that St. Hilde Academy once I get that other appointment out of the way with that officer who’s reopening your case.”
“School, huh?” He took a quick look around their temporary home which had two bedrooms, a main living space, a washroom and a small kitchen. The laundry equipment was tucked away in a corner, consisting of some washing bats and a board. It was a bit of a comfort to Olivie, knowing that the Church still did things in a manner that she was familiar with. “I’ll probably be seeing Vivio there pretty often.”
“From what I remember, the school has two separate sections. Based on your age, you’ll be likely to go into the middle school section so you won’t be able to spend time with each other aside from lunch times and recesses.”
“I just wonder how far behind I am in everything.” After all, his formal education had taken a dramatic shift ever since his home town was destroyed. “That multiple choice exam is going to be scary tomorrow.”
“Oh, don’t stress too much about it,” said Olivie gently while ruffling her son’s hair. “If you want, I can wait outside your test room while you get evaluated.”
“If you’re going to come to school as well, you should disguise yourself like that other lady said,” commented Touma.
“Carim did say I would have to do that in order not to cause any ruckus,” muttered the woman to herself. She was well aware that history had recorded her as perishing at the end of the war so if she just went out in public as is, that could cause some unwanted hassle.
For the moment, she would comply with the request of the Church’s director to hide her identity. Disguising herself shouldn’t be too difficult. As long as her heterochromia was concealed, nobody would be able to pick up on who she really is. “I guess I’ll go with that alias that Carim had suggested for me earlier. What was it again?”
“Once the paperwork has been cleared in the morning at the Bureau’s end, she will be registered as Elina Higgins. Her background story is that she has been caught in the middle of a political power struggle on her home world and she fled for her own safety a few years ago. She had settled on Vaizen where she took the boy under her care. And now that she’s here, she is requesting that a new identity be created for her in order to protect her adopted son from being dragged into her past.”
“Thank you for all your hard work, Otto. For something put together on short notice that was well done.” Carim hoped the story would hold up well. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for new legal identification requests to be sent to the Bureau to give refugees a brand new identity in cases where they were previously well known in their home worlds. “Also, I would like it if you kept this information to yourself for the moment.”
“Yes, I understand. If I may ask… is the best course of action to take, Director?”
“Honestly, this is a very unusual situation we’re facing.” The blonde woman got up from her desk and strolled over to a file cabinet tucked away near the bookshelf. She opened the top section and began scrolling through the files.
Otto nodded in agreement. “I guess what comes next will depend on whether the claims can be verified.”
“I’m certain that once Mr. Scrya has completed his investigation and gets the genetic results back, those findings will prove that she is who she says she is. And once that is confirmed, then we will have to decide once and for all how to address the matter of the vacant throne.”
“Director?”
Carim just smiled softly. “Just thinking to myself. In any case, you may take your leave. It’s getting late.”
Otto was a bit curious what the blonde woman meant earlier but decided to leave it be for now. “I bid you good night then, Director.”
As Otto departed from the office, Carim pulled out the lengthy list of contacts and placed them on her desk. The list consisted of the name of every Saint Church Cardinal who was currently in service. Considering how many worlds they were spread across, it would be best to set a meeting date a month in advance so that they can all make their arrangements on their respective worlds before coming to the Grand Cathedral.
The last time that the College of Cardinals had gathered was after the whole JS Incident with the Saint’s Cradle. The decision that had been made at the time was to leave young Vivio be and observe her carefully. If she chose to take the throne, then she would do so once she has learned all about Belkan customs and traditions and when she is of age.
But right now, they have a candidate who satisfies those conditions. Carim had no doubts that Olivie would make a fine Kaiser but how would the people react? Her concern wasn’t just focused on the people who lived on the Church’s land but there were also the Cardinals.
Right now, because the throne was vacant, the College of Cardinals was seen as the one with ruling power over the remaining Belkans who lived on Church grounds here on Mid-Childa and elsewhere wherever the Church had a presence. Would they acknowledge the Kaiser and yield to her claim if she chose to ascend? They may prefer to keep the status quo since things are stable at the moment. She understood that perfectly.
But the latest divination she performed with her Rare Skill, Prophetinschriften, indicated otherwise. From the interpretation she was able to get out of her new poem, it hinted at other aspects from Belka’s past awakening. Whether it would be a threat to the current peace is uncertain but if the Kaiser took the throne and had the proper political power and influence, it would give the Director some peace of mind.
‘The only hard part is to get the other Cardinals to see this as well. Especially the Dean and the Sub-Dean.’ Those two were going to be the key. Since they were seen as the ultimate authority on the College of Cardinals, she would need to make her case to them first. Once they were on board, the rest would follow.
See other episodes by Yasanagi
(Posted Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:10)
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